Marc Laithwaite 35:50
Richard Carey 37:03
Steve Hilton 38:09
Pete Murray 38:29
Paul Owens 39:34
Mathew Burdekin 40:36
Ian Hampson 41:31
Tracey Hampson 44:28
Alfie Shaw 46:02
Mark Fenn 48:10

The summer series starts from beginning of April with 2 time trials every month through to (and including) August. These will take place on a Thursday evening and will include courses similar to those used for the winter series.

For club members, we will be riding ‘open’ time trial events from March onwards, click the TES cycle racing tab at the top of this page for more info.

See you there..

Physiology of endurance running

Endurance running is an aerobic discipline, this means that all the things relating to aerobic energy production are important. Those things include a good set of heart and lungs, a decent supply of red blood cells to carry oxygen and muscles which are adapted to aerobic activity (in particular the slow twitch fibres). All of the above have an impact upon the amount of oxygen which can be supplied and utilised by the muscles to create energy. If you can use more oxygen, you can generate more aerobic energy and therefore run faster. The maximum amount of oxygen you can use to create energy is your VO2 Peak, or VO2 Max as its more commonly referred to.

What kind of training develops the aerobic energy system?

Aerobic running (longer running at slow to moderate paces) develops the aerobic system, so based on this fact, running lots of miles at a steady pace will help to improve your endurance running. If that’s the case, why do most club runners fall into the category of running lots of steady miles and yet seemingly never getting any faster? An important thing to take into account at this point is that aerobic energy production is exactly that.. its energy production. We need energy to run fast, but your ability to run fast is determined by a complex list of ingredients and providing energy is only one part of it.

What makes some fast and others not so fast?

I’m not just referring to 10k or half marathon, I’m talking about 100/200m on the running track. At my local training group on Monday evening, all of the runners could be deemed to be ‘aerobically fit’ as most run regularly and most run for an hour plus. Last week we completed a set of 200m fast repeats on the track, running for such a short distance is deemed ‘anaerobic’ due to it’s short nature. Strangely, the quickest 10k runners were the quickest 200m runners in the group and the slowest 10k runners were the slowest 200m runners (aside from a few odd ones!), so is that just coincidence?

If longer distance 10k running is an ‘aerobic activity’ and shorter distance 200m running is an ‘anaerobic activity’, then the above really shouldn’t happen, the fastest 10k runners shouldn’t necessarily be the fastest 200m runners as the requirements are totally different. There are 2 important things to consider:

1. Yet again, we are slipping into the habit of discussing only ‘energy production’. Aerobic and anaerobic are 2 separate ways to produce energy within the body, but there is far more to running quickly than simply producing energy.
2. What I see every Monday is the simple fact that fast runners are fast runners. When coaching distance runners, whether the track repetitions are 200m / 400m / 800m / 1 mile, the same runners are at the front and the same ones are at the back.

What are the other ingredients?

We’ve posted previously in our footstrikescience blog regarding some of the other ingredients and the major 3 are as follows:

1. Core – a chassis which holds firm every time your foot strikes the ground and resists collapse or buckling. If your chassis collapses, the energy is lost…
2. Contact – as your foot hits the ground, elastic energy is stored in tendons allows us to bounce. Your tendon structure and ‘tension’ has a large impact upon how much force you can produce.
3. Co-ordination – the ability of the nervous system to ‘fire your muscles’ and make your limbs move both quickly and smoothly, allowing you to run fast and make it look easy…

Can you run fast?

It’s a simple question but the one most overlooked. If you are hoping to race 10k events this year and you are capable of running for more than an hour, then you need to identify the main barrier that is preventing you reaching your target time. The likely answer is that you are simply not a fast enough runner, you cannot run quick and that’s the thing which you’ll need to change. A lot of amateur athletes have a great cardiovascular system but never convert it to fast times and there’s little point having a great engine when you’re trying to drive on square wheels..

Well.. it worked for him so why not me?

Many coaching models for endurance athletes are historically written the same way. We start with a ‘base’ phase which includes mileage and ‘time on feet’. As the season draws closer we gradually increase the intensity and the sessions get faster, peaking at the right time for the right race. As we mentioned earlier, there are several ingredients required for successful endurance running and perhaps one of the essential requirements is that you just have to be fast? Perhaps an essential element is owning the basic, raw ability to run quick.

It’s easy to identify that pretty much all elite long distance runners have the ability to run fast over short distances, they own that basic, raw ability. Once, you have that ability, applying a training schedule which enhances endurance would allow those runners to maintain fast running for longer periods of time. For those runners who are gifted with natural speed, the classic ‘base phase’ and subsequent progressions would work perfectly. What if you never had that speed in the first place?

Our training schedules are largely based upon ‘what the professionals do’. If that’s how the Olympic champion trains for the marathon, then surely we can all learn from that? The issue with that theory is that they have that one vital ingredient, the ability to run fast, and you probably don’t. That’s possibly the single most important factor which makes all the difference. In such a case, people who can’t run fast following the standard schedule as outlined above, would simply learn to maintain slower speed for longer.

In conclusion, I firmly believe that raw, basic speed (determined by the 3C’s above) is something naturally found in all elite runners and standard training schedules allow them to develop endurance and therefore maintain speed for longer periods of time. We are not elite runners and we do not have such basic speed yet follow the same training schedules as the champions, believing it to be the best way forwards.

Does any of this make sense?

Do you identify with the above? Any nervous alarm bells ringing?? If so, you’re probably wondering where we go from here.. simple, you need to learn how to run fast.

I know at this point you’re probably thinking ‘intervals’.. I’ll run some mile repeats at the track next week!! Stop right there.. If you would like to learn how to run fast you need to take it right back to basics and shock the system. Start with 50-100m and run quickly, do this regularly. Learn how to run smooth (coordination), with force (contact) and with perfect technique (core). If you start with mile repeats you’ll simply run round at your usual slow speeds and get nowhere. If you want to undo all your good work, you could run the next day for 90 minutes and shuffle your way round, that should do it.

If the above makes perfect sense then your quickest way forwards is to make radical changes to your training, work on your main limiting factor and focus on the simple ability to run quickly. If you’ve been running for several years and you are continually failing to make progress, what have you got to lose? Do you really think that breaking from your usual routine will see you running slower?

Don’t worry about training, go and learn how to run again..

Marc Laithwaite
www.theendurancecoach.com
www.theendurancestore.com

General information

1. Please park carefully and try to keep off the road as much as possible
2. When gathering before the start please stay off the road and please be aware of traffic entering the circuit from Peel Road
3. There are currently 2 groups (a third group may be added in coming weeks), group 1 will start at 7:00pm and group 2 will follow a minute later

Group riding

1. When riding in a group, please keep the 2 lines of riders neatly together, no more than 1m between the 2 lines
2. As you move over off the front, reduce your speed slightly to allow the inside rider past, you should only move over 1m to keep the lines tight together
3. If you are the inside rider coming through, do not accelerate and open a gap, pass the outside rider and when clear, move across and reduce speed
4. Everyone should avoid gaps opening by remaining as close as possible to the rider in front, this avoids the need to accelerate which can split the group

Group etiquette

1. If you are dropped from the group with which you are riding, you should join other riders or groups behind you, please DON’T take the cut through Peel Lane and re-join the group
2. If you are lapped by faster riders / groups, please don’t accelerate and attempt to join them, continue with the group you are riding with at that time
3. If you find yourself in a smaller group with 2-3 riders, you should ride in single file, practice riding on the wheel and taking turns. Please don’t ride 2-3 abreast which makes it difficult for riders and traffic to pass
4. At all times please keep left and stay in single file (if 2-3 rider) or keep the 2 lines close together (1m maximum) to allow traffic and other groups to overtake.

General stuff..

1. Lights are absolutely compulsory
2. Fluorescent stuff is advised
3. The circuit is not closed to traffic and cars / wagons often enter from side roads, be aware and shout to the group if you see any vehicles, they may not see you!!

See you there!!
The Endurance Store

Cadence

Since Lance Armstrong introduced the world to ‘high cadence riding’, a lot of people have chosen this as their preferred method. I regularly hear coaches and athletes advising that a faster cadence, spinning easy gears is the best way to cycle. The first thing to identify is the difference between ‘road racing’ and ‘time trial’ cycling. When riding in a bunch race, higher cadence is more beneficial and allows a change of pace / acceleration with greater ease, hence road racing cyclists promote higher cadence. When riding a time trial as per age group triathlon, the focus is to maintain once steady pace and intensity throughout, which is very different to bunch racing.

Higher cadences result in higher heart rate, oxygen consumption and fuel use, all of which have a negative impact upon performance. From a bio-mechanical perspective,  pedaling at faster cadences can also result in a less effective pedal technique, to read more about this GO HERE. If your main discipline is triathlon or time trial and you are pedaling ‘super quick’, then you may wish to change your view regarding cadence selection. My personal opinion on this topic is that too many people select easy gears and high cadence, often coupled with compact or triple chain sets and this results in a lack of ‘leg strength’. These people are unable to ride even moderate hills without changing into very easy gears and on flat sections are unable to use the ‘big chain ring’, resulting in slow speeds during short course events.

Contact

If you have a Watt Bike, Computrainer or similar training tool, you will know that there is an option to analyse your pedal stroke and check whether you pedal in smooth circles or whether you are stomping on the pedals! The ‘figure of 8′ graph changes to a circular shape as your pedal action become more efficient. The ‘dead spot’ curing the pedal stroke occurs between 11 and 1 o’clock as the foot moves over the top of the stroke. The reason for this dead spot is that hip flexors are at their shortest and therefore weakest length, this is exaggerated when riding in the aero position. As the foot passes over the top of the stroke the alternate leg is passing under the bottom of the stroke from 5 to 7 o’clock, this is an equally weak position. The strongest point of the pedal stroke is the 2 to 4 o’clock position, pushing down on the pedals, this also assists the opposite leg moving upwards from 8 to 10 o’clock.

Developing a circular pedal action is important for 2 main reasons:

1. It reduces fatigue over time by distributing the workload across all muscle groups. In simple terms, the muscles can become fatigued within specific ranges of movement, if most of your power is produced during the 2-4 o’clock position, you rapidly become tired within the 2-4 o’clock position. By contrast, the muscles which work from 4, all the way back round to the 2 o’clock position (the remaining 300 degrees of pedal stroke) may still be relatively fresh.

2. It maintains bike momentum, in particular on bad road surfaces and going up hills. If you only produce power during the 2-4 o’clock position and tend to push, push, push on the pedals rather than turning circles, your bike will continually surge and slow, surge and slow.. If you are riding on bad roads with poor rolling resistance, in particular when going uphill, your bike stops rolling if you are not providing propulsion. Pedaling in circles ensures continuous propulsion and continuous forwards movement, this is far more effective and significantly faster.

What to do from now..

Initially you need to start pedaling in circles, at least start thinking about it on all rides! You should fee ‘constant contact’ with the pedals when riding i.e. you should always feel as though you are pushing against the pedals and feeling ‘pressure’. If you choose a very easy gear you will often feel a ‘slip’ or ‘clunk’ at the top of the stroke, for that reason, a bigger gear and slower cadence is a great place to start. Remember that it’s harder in the aero position so practice on your aero bars in the time trial position.

Have fun and pedal smooth
Marc Laithwaite
The Endurance Store

Friday evening includes a head torch run at 7:00pm for the super keen, before the real fun starts Saturday morning with a long cycle ride through the Cumbrian countryside. Saturday afternoon includes a theory session and then swim practical to include video analysis. Following all that, there is a group meal Saturday evening in the local pub (paid on the night), followed by the Base Camp quiz!

Sunday is a relatively early startand a 1.5-2 hour steady run on trails. After lunch you have the opportunity to sit down with a coach and go through all your video clips from the previous day swimming..

The whole weekend costs £95 excluding the meal on Saturday evening and all abilities are welcome but you shouold be capable of cycling for 3-4 hours and runing 1.5 hours (speed not important).

This is a great opportunity to kick start your year and get some great advice!!

GO HERE to read more and to join us in January..

Regards
The Endurance Coach

Results:

24:00 Marc Laithwaite
24:13 Richard Gray
25:12 Peter Gaskell
25:34 Richard Bardon
25:56 Steve Hilton
26:07 David Morgan
26:15 Pete Murray
26:32 Paul Targett
26:39 Sean Spillane
26:44 Graham Johnston
27:44 Roger Lowe
28:18 Chris Wilson
32:32 Martin Pollitt
33:08 Mike Smith
33:14 Mark Fenn
33:41 Lorraine Thompson
34:54 Amanda Wilsden
38:17 Joanne Heron

See you at the next session!!

There are 2 ways to establish HR zones, these are maximum heart rate and threshold heart rate.

Maximum HR

Establishing zones from maximum HR generally involves either a simple calculation to estimate your maximum HR such as 220-age, or the completion of a progressive maximal exercise test to find your true maximum HR. From our experience, both methods of calculating maximal heart rate are unreliable. Using 220-age is no more than ‘total guess-work’ and athletes very rarely reach maximal heart rate in a progressive lab test. If you insist on using maximal heart rate, the most accurate method is to simply use the highest recorded heart rate in the previous 3 months (note that maximal HR will be different for bike and run, generally higher for running).

Threshold HR

Using threshold HR is more complex but more accurate for athletes, this involves the calculation of threshold by completing either a laboratory or a field test field test such as a simple time-trial and using average heart rate. the CP20 test used for cycling is a common and reliable method if done correctly.

Benefits of Heart Rate Training

1. HR monitors are relatively cheap to purchase and easy to use.
2. They can potentially provide an accurate gauge to how hard your body is working at ‘aerobic’ intensities (longer and steady training sessions).

Limitations of Heart Rate Training

1. Heart rate monitors become unreliable when training at intensities which equate to threshold zone or above. If you are completing any interval sessions of approximately 6 minutes in duration or less e.g. 1 mile running repeats or less, HR struggles to respond and reach the required level within the allotted time. This often leads to athletes pushing too hard, despite the intensity being ‘correct’. They make the simple assumption that “HR is too low so I need to push harder” when in fact, it just takes time to reach the required level.

Heart rate is best used to guide ‘aerobic training sessions’ below threshold and for those at threshold and above, it is generally more of a hinderance than a help. For threshold or above, use perceived effort or use an alternate guide such as ‘pace’ for running (know your track lap times) or ‘power’ for cycling (use a cycle power meter or a turbo with power function).

2. Average heart rate is a pointless figure, time in zone is the key. If your training schedule requires you to exercise between 120-130 beats per minute (bpm), you should never be below the lower limit of above the upper limit. If you spend half your time at 150 bpm and the other half at 100 bpm, you will effectively spend no time within the ‘zone’ but your average will be 125 bpm (the zone centre). Flat line your heart rate and maintain a ‘constant’ heart rate, slow down on uphill sections and go harder on downhill sections, this is a real skill. If your heart rate is constantly rising and dropping as you ride or run, the aerobic training quality is very poor for various reasons.

3. If you are tired from training the previous day, or tired from work, family and other pressures, heart rate will always be lower than normal. This can often cause problems as athletes ‘fight’ to push the HR into correct zone. As a consequence, despite being tired, they push harder than the planned intensity. There are many reasons why heart rate might be lower or higher than normal, remember, just because the HR is lower or higher, doesn’t necessarily mean the ‘intensity’ is incorrect. Your HR is a ‘guide’ only and sometimes it should be ignored, if you know it’s wrong!

4. Heart rate will be higher in hot weather and lower in cold weather, hence during the winter, your heart rate may well be lower than summer.

5. Heart rate is also lower in the morning than during the evening, so a cold winter morning may lead to a heart rate significantly lower than a warm summer evening.

6. We have noticed ‘seasonal’ changes amongst athletes and don’t currently know of any research which would explain this. In winter, heart rate may be lower and this is not dictated by ‘colder weather’. When athletes carry out indoor testing sessions at identical room temperatures, they still show lower maximum heart rates in winter months.

7. ‘Cardiac drift’ explains the fact that HR does not stay stable if you run or cycle at one pace. You may exercise for 40 minutes and your running speed may not change but HR will progressively rise throughout the workout. This is caused by by fatigue and also by a rise in body temperature (your heart beats a little faster to pump blood to the skin, helping you to cool down). The ‘intensity’ has not changed, so this drift in heart rate is allowed.

8. We mentioned earlier than fatigue can led to  drop in heart rate. it is common for athletes doing long distance events such as Ironman triathlon or ultra running to see a progressive drop in heart rate during the race. This is a common ‘fatigue response’ and if you try to push harder and maintain your pre-set zone, this may result in you running / riding too hard.

9. Cycling on the turbo trainer will always produce a lower heart rate than cycling at a similar intensity on the road. For this reason any interval sessions conducted indoors on the turbo may need an adjustment of zones (drop them all 5 beats as a start point).

10. cycling cadence and to some extent, running cadence have a real impact upon HR. If you push big gears with a slow cadence, heart rate will be lower compared to spinning faster with an easier gear. The power output and speed might be the same using both techniques, but HR will vary significantly!

11. Tapering and event day adrenaline all lead to higher heart rates than normally seen for any given intensity. For this reason using heart rate (specifically in the early stages) as a race intensity guide can be misleading and needs to be accounted for.

12. Finally.. some people have higher heart rates and others have low heart rates. There is no benefit to one or the other, it’s just the way you are and in no way is either a limitation. Your maximal heart rate does not increase as your fitness improves, in the lab we often see a lower maximum heart rate as athletes progress their fitness and performances. In essence, don’t over analyse it!

Go forth and train in a constructive manner..

Happy New Year
Marc Laithwaite
The Endurance Store

I marked out the course and arrived at the shop to find 3 riders drinking tea.. Angela had bought mince pies for afterwards so it was decided, we were riding!! We wrapped up and headed out of the door to find Pete Murray pulling up on his training bike, we were 5.. almost a peleton!!

There was a 10 minute ride to the start in Newburgh followed by 2×7 miles loops, including the climb of Cobbs Brow on both laps. Paul Owen, new to triathlon this year set off first followed by Chris, Pete, Ste and myself at 30 second intervals. The wind was blowing strong and there was a great deal or surface water to contend with but everyone battled to the end with Paul’s ride being the best of the day (not bad for a badminton player).

Round 3 will hopefully take place in slightly drier conditions.. GO HERE to see the remaining 2 events..

Results:

Marc Laithwaite 38:45
Paul owen 41:00
Pete Murray 41:19
Ste Hilton 42:06
Chris Wilson 46:12

Just to recap.. why fat burn?

In simple terms many people have a real difficulty utilising fat as a fuel source and therefore favour carbohydrate. The down side of this is that when they exercise they quickly deplete their carbohydrate stores. At this point the body has no choice but to use fat as a major source of fuel, but unfortunately, as these people are unable to use fat effectively it leave them with a problem.. which generally involves a dramatic reduction in pace. For most people it appears that the inability to utilise fat can be reversed to some extent by manipulating training and diet.

What’s the issue relating to illness?

By measuring substances in the blood, research has shown that repeated high intensity bouts of exercise suppresses the immune system and this may be avoided by taking carbohydrate on board during the sessions. Certain immune cells rely upon a substance called ‘glutamine’ which is derived from carbohydrate.. low carbs = low glutamine = no food for immune cells!

However, the research involves repeated high intensity bouts, pretty much killer sessions. This is not generally the kind of session which would be classed as a ‘fat burning workout’. One of the research papers involved cyclists completing 6 intervals of 20 minutes each at 90% VO2 max with 20 minutes recovery between each interval. Needless to say, that session could empty even the biggest fuel tanks and would place a huge amount of stress on the body.

Lower intensity aerobic sessions such as long slow / steady rides and runs are perfect for enhancing your ability utilise fat as a fuel source. For high intensity / quality or maximal sessions, you should ensure that you are fuelled and ready to go, especially if considering 6X20 minutes close to maximum intensity.. I might save that one for next week!

General guidelines and things to consider

1.Keep the HR steady and avoid fluctuations by slowing on hills and avoiding free wheeling
2. Stay in zones 1&2
3. Avoid sports products with carbohydrate content
4. Don’t fuel up beforehand or eat light several hours beforehand
5. If you start to struggle, stop and eat, but remember that you may feel sluggish..
6. Use zero energy electrolyte drink to stay hydrated
7. There are some new products which have added glutamine to couteract the immune suppression
8. Decrease carbohydrates and sugar content in your daily diet and bulk up on veg
9. When you do eat carbohydrate, choose brown rice, pasta, bread

Stay healthy!

We will take into account both your injury history, your current level of performance and your running style before advising you which shoes are most appropriate.

If you have any current injuries which are impacting upon your training and competing we can offer you a free physio consultation worth £40 with your local physioworld clinic.

We have developed our gait analysis service in conjunction with the team at physioworld to ensure you receive the best support and after care. No other running shop will offer you this complete service, level of experience and after care.

For more information visit: www.theendurancestore.com email: sales@theendurancestore.com or telephone: 01257 251217 for more information.